16 companies debut on China’s ‘new third board’

BEIJING — China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations, also known as the “new third board,” saw the debut of 16 new small and medium-sized enterprises during the past week.

With the newcomers, the total number of companies on the board reached 11,125, according to the exchange.

From July 16 to 20, turnover on the board increased 6.11 percent from the previous week to 1.89 billion yuan ($280 million), bringing the total turnover year to date to 48.71 billion yuan.

The exchange was launched in early 2013 to supplement the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges to serve small and medium-sized enterprises.

It is seen as an easier financing channel for small businesses, with low costs and simple listing procedures. Last year, total turnover on the board stood at about 227 billion yuan, up 18.7 percent from 2016.